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Final Bitcoin and CryptoCurrencies Scams Exposed
Category : BLOGS
Bitcoin and CryptoCurrency are making far more headlines than any other Celebrity.
This frame grab made available by the BBC on Monday, May 2, 2016, shows the creator of the Bitcoin, Craig Wright speaking in London.
In 2011, the pair founded a Florida-based firm called W&K Info Defense Research LLC, which was engaged in bitcoin mining and software development and research. Kleiman owned between 50 and 100 percent of W&K, the lawsuit said.
It claims that the Kleiman estate owns the rights to $5,118,266,427.50 worth of bitcoin and IP rights.
The filing says it is “unclear” whether Wright, Kleiman or the two together were responsible for the cryptocurrency’s creation. But the document adds that it is “undeniable” that the pair was involved in bitcoin “from its inception,” and that they acquired a “vast” number of bitcoins from 2009 to 2013.via Self-proclaimed bitcoin creator sued for allegedly stealing $5 billion worth of crypto, other assets
Bitcoins and Crypto Currency is getting more and more popular despite the rollercoaster ride the Digital Currency goes under. Different Coins are mined, created and become popular but not as popular and fast rising as the bitcoin.
There are different Coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Did you know there are more than 1384 until January 2018 Crypto Currencies registered?
Platforms are created to trade Cryptocurrencies and allow people to trade without fees. People have killed their investment because they did not understand how to trade the Cryptocurrencies. As the outlook is not clear and people think when they trade a coin they made a big gain and then look it up and figure out that some of the money is missing, puzzled they ask where did it go.
Will the EU regulate the Crypto -Currencies
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union stands ready to regulate crypto-currencies if risks from the sector are not tackled at the global level, the bloc’s financial services chief said on Monday.
A global investment craze over bitcoin BTC=BTSP and other virtual currencies in the last year has seen wild gyrations in their valuations, making fortunes for some investors while others have lost heavily.
“This is a global phenomenon and it’s important there is an international follow-up at the global level,” Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters.
“We do not exclude the possibility to move ahead (by regulating crypto-currencies) at the EU level if we see, for example, risks emerging but no clear international response emerging.”via EU says stands ready to regulate crypto-currencies
Are Crypto Currencies a Threat to the Economy?
Is there a threat to the overall economy with cryptocurrencies becoming more and more popular. Could they pose a substantial risk for investors? Could the Cryptocurrency without safeguards be vulnerable to financial crime? Too many governments they only represent a tiny part of the financial system.
Markus Ferber, a centre-right member of the European Parliament, said a quick EU regulatory response was needed, rather than waiting years for international rules to trickle through. via EU says stands ready to regulate crypto-currencies
Crypto Currencies Hacker Attacks on Networks
Criminals continue their quest for acquiring cryptocurrencies without having to buy and manage their own mining equipment. They’re resorting to attacks aimed at stealing the cryptocurrencies via hacking, demanding them as ransom payments as well as sneaking cryptocurrency mining software onto servers to generate virtual currencies (see Cybercriminals Go Cryptocurrency Crazy: 9 Factors). via Cryptocurrency Theft: Hackers Repurpose Old Tricks
How do they do it?
Malware is still one of the easiest operators to install on to a computer or network without the user knowing.
Old Trojan Tricks and New Targets are the new wave game.
Web injections and or attacks called “the man in the browser” are specifically designed to be activated when a user is visiting the specific website like a cryptocurrency exchange.
It will intercept the keystrokes of a user and will alter the browser interface as a disguise and the attacker will drain the user account of all the funds.
How the Trickbot hijacks the coins?
“In the normal payment scenario, a user looking to buy coins provides his or her public bitcoin wallet address and specifies the amount of bitcoin to purchase. When submitting this initial form, the user is redirected from the bitcoin exchange platform to a payment gateway on another domain, which is operated by a payment service provider. There, the user fills in his or her personal information, as well as credit card and billing details, and confirms the purchase of coins,” the X-Force researchers write.
“This is where TrickBot hijacks the coins. This particular attack targets both the bitcoin exchange website and that of the payment service to grab the coins and route them to an attacker-controlled wallet.” via Cryptocurrency Theft: Hackers Repurpose Old Tricks
Servers of Enterprises are mainly at risk
Kafeine warns that enterprise resources are very much at risk from these types of attacks. “Because most of the nodes in this botnet appear to be Windows servers, the performance impact on potentially critical business infrastructure may be high, as can the cost of increased energy usage by servers running much closer to capacity,” he writes. “Given the significant profits available to the botnet operators and the resilience of the botnet and its infrastructure, we expect these activities to continue, along with their potential impacts on infected nodes.”
He adds that it’s a virtual certainty that botnets such as Smominru will “become more common and to continue growing in size.”via Cryptocurrency Theft: Hackers Repurpose Old Tricks
Bitcoin is losing its heat to the Thieves
Threat intelligence firm reviewed underground markets and found out that bitcoin even still accepted, is losing its ground and the underground market is more fond of Monero, Bitcoin Cash, Zcash, Litecoin, Dash, and Ethereum.
The firm says that within the next 12 months, it expects bitcoin to no longer be the dominant payment mechanism for cybercrime service buyers and sellers (see Bitcoin’s Reign on the Dark Web May Be Waning).via Cryptocurrency Theft: Hackers Repurpose Old Tricks
Trading and buying Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, Zcash, Monero, Dash, a.s.o is a judgement everyone has to make for themselves. Of course, you should never invest money you can not afford to lose.Trading in Cryptocurrencies can ruin you if you do not know what you are doing. Please take caution.
Want to know how to buy Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoins.
Please note you will be redirected.
Do you invest in Crypto Currency? what is your experience and what are your thoughts on the development of the Coins. Please comment and share your thoughts.
All the best Jim
Read our other post on CryptoCurrency


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The company will soon expand the network of retail stores, where its products are sold, to 25,000 from 20,000, said associate vice president (marketing) Shashank Sinha.
Officials of soft drink companies and ice-cream marketers said the sales are down about 5% so far in June compared to the same time last year.
Migration to the new indirect tax regime, they said, is causing 'discomfort' among their trade partners who are busy clearing old stock to avoid losses before the new indirect tax regime kicks in next month.
"Right now they are liquidating their stock. If they do not have any stock, they are purchasing it. They are not up stocking anything," Kamal Nandi said
“There has been a huge shift in the number of brands that want to do business with us,“ said Manish Tiwary , VP (category management), Amazon India.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the new site today in the presence of Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
Panasonic India is eyeing a revenue of Rs 1,150 crore from the business- to-business (B2B) segment in the current fiscal at a growth of 35 per cent, a company official said.
Manufacturers have asked retailers to push sale of existing stock, especially older inventory that does not have excise invoices, so that retailers are not stuck with such transition stock.
Arvind Uppal, however, will continue to be the Chairman and Non Executive Director of Whirlpool of India.
EESL to order 1 lakh ACs. Panasonic was the lowest price bidder, offering to make them at Rs 35,000, followed by Daikin, which quoted Rs 41,000.
The proposed JV will launch refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves and other white goods and domestic appliances in India.
Spain-based sanitary product maker Roca has planned to introduce high end tiles over the next six to eight months eyeing Rs 100 crore revenue, a top company official said
Besides, HHL, through its subsidiary Havells International Ltd, would transfer 100 per cent stake in Havells Sylvania Thailand Ltd to Felio for 1.6 million euro (Rs 11.21 crore).
Kim Ki-Wan, India managing director, LG Electronics, said the company has missed out on an additional sales opportunity since no one foresaw such high demand.
The Euro Ceramics plant in Bhachau, Kutch is spread over 17 acres and is among the most state-of-the-art facilities in Asia, the Promoter and Director of the company, Rajesh Mehra said here today.
Shankara Building Products, a retailer of home improvement and building products in India, has a network of of 107 stores spread across nine states.

domain: news


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NEW DELHI, 29 January 2016 – Dr Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent charge) Ministry of Tourism & Culture, India inaugurated the Tourism Malaysia booth at SATTE today. The Minister was joined by Dato’ Daljit Singh, Indian Community Relations Advisor to the Minister of Tourism & Culture Malaysia and a member of Tourism Malaysia Board of Directors. India is one of the top 10 tourist generating markets for Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia is leading 50 Malaysian travel trade players and state tourism authorities to participate in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE). It is in line with Malaysia’s efforts to boost arrivals from India, with as many as 7.7 lakh Indian tourists visiting Malaysia in 2014.
Leading the Malaysian delegation to the 23rd edition of SATTE is Dato’ Daljit Singh and he is accompanied by representatives from 18 travel agents/tour operators, three hotels/resorts, three tourism products/attractions, two state tourism authorities, and three airlines.
On January 30th, Tourism Malaysia is scheduled to give a special presentation to a group of women travellers, known as ‘Women With Wings’, to promote and launch the Malaysia Shopping Campaign. In the evening, an Appreciation Night will be held at The Imperial Hotel to thank travel agents who have helped promote and sell Malaysia to their clients. Besides that, the Malaysia Sales Carnival tour packages will also be launched.
To boost Indian arrivals, Tourism Malaysia will encourage and persuade more tour operators to develop and sell holiday packages to Malaysia with a focus on niche products like luxury travel, shopping, and sports tourism. A discussion will be carried out with the top travel trade associations in India, namely Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), India Tourism Golf Association, and Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI).
Tourism Malaysia’s participation in SATTE and its promotional efforts in India are expected to increase the number of Indian tourists to Malaysia. It aims to promote greater awareness of Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination, besides fostering greater cooperation between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.
This year marks the 11th year of Malaysia’s participation in SATTE since its debut in 1994. Last year, SATTE recorded the participation of over 650 exhibitors from more than 35 countries and 26 Indian States.


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After our biggest presence at UK air shows this year the team is pleased to announce that we will round off our season and be present on October 2nd, 2016, at R.A.F Coningsby for the Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association Members Day. …Continue Reading
A WOODEN WONDER RESTORED – For the Mosquito fan in your life (or – let’s be honest – a treat for yourself!). We are pleased to offer this superb package – available on DVD and Blu-Ray – over two hours …Continue Reading
Our deepest condolences to all those affected by yesterday’s terrible events at Shoreham Airshow. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives or were injured and remain in hospital. We will only know the …Continue Reading
The UK Plan to Restore RL249 to Flight http://themanshed.cc/mosquito-people-uk/ This article first appeared on The Man Shed website in February 2015.
Here’s news of our latest TPM store promotion. From 17th – 19th March when you check out with 5 products you will only pay for 4. The least expensive product is free*. Visit our online store bit.ly/TPMShop and use code BUY5PAY4 at the checkout. Our profits …Continue Reading
As promised, here’s news of our latest TPM store promotion. From 9th – 13th January you can get 15% off everything* (with no minimum order) at our online store bit.ly/TPMShop – use code HEART15 at the checkout. Our profits from sales …Continue Reading


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German telco Deutsche Telekom has added TVNow Premium, the streaming service from German broadcaster Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, to its TV platform MagentaTV.
The ProSiebenSat.1 advertising subsidiary SevenOne Media now offers advertisers the possibility to place targeted advertising on all channels of the German TV group.
The Federal German cartel office has given the go-ahead for the joint venture between Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland and ProSiebenSat.1 in the area of addressable TV and online video advertising.
SpotX has announced an expanded partnership with BrightLine to deliver a direct pipeline of premium inventory to advertisers.
TDF and Enensys have concluded a strategic partnership aimed at boosting the development of innovative solutions for targeted advertising on Digital Terrestrial TV.
MX1, the technical services subsidiary of Astra satellite operator SES, has formed a partnership with German advertising insertion solutions provider Nowtilus.
Adobe has announced a partnership with Roku to offer Adobe customers the ability to target the consumer audience moving to over-the-top service (OTT).
German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland has recently introduced Sky’s addressable TV solution Sky AdSmart.
FranceTV Publicité has tested with TDF and advertisers Sofinco and St Hubert, the substitution of a commercial with a targeted spot on HbbTV DTT households.
Danish OTT and VOD solutions provider Xstream has extended its end-to-end OTT platform MediaMaker with the server-side ad insertion system developed by German digital video distribution solutions provider Nowtilus.


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Tesla Inc has been cleared of violating U.S. labor law by a federal appeals court, which ruled that the company’s prohibition of pro-union t-shirts at its Fremont assembly plant was lawful. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, reversed a previous decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), noting that Tesla’s uniform policy requiring company-issued shirts while allowing union stickers was permissible.
The court stated that the NLRB was wrong in demanding Tesla to provide evidence of “special circumstances” justifying the policy. By maintaining the provision for employees to display union stickers, the court concluded that Tesla did not interfere with union organizing.
The electric vehicle manufacturer implemented its uniform policy in 2017 during an organizing campaign by the United Auto Workers union (UAW), which accused Tesla of employing tactics to suppress organizing efforts. Tesla has denied these allegations.
Neither Tesla nor the NLRB has responded to requests for comment on the court’s ruling.
Tesla’s “team wear” policy mandated employees to wear black shirts featuring the company logo, which the company argued was necessary to prevent damage to vehicles during assembly.
It is worth noting that the full 5th Circuit is also reviewing Tesla’s appeal in a separate case involving an NLRB decision. The decision stated that CEO Elon Musk violated federal labor law with a tweet in 2018, suggesting that employees who join a union would lose stock options. A three-judge panel had previously affirmed the NLRB’s ruling in March.
While the court’s recent ruling addresses the uniform policy, the ongoing case highlights the larger debate surrounding labor relations at Tesla.
1. Did Tesla violate labor law by prohibiting pro-union t-shirts?
No, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Tesla, stating that the company’s uniform policy, which required company-issued shirts while allowing union stickers, was lawful.
2. What was the previous decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)?
The NLRB had ruled that any attempt to ban union insignia, including pro-union t-shirts, was unlawful unless “special circumstances” such as safety concerns were proven by the employer.
3. What did the court say about Tesla’s uniform policy?
The court stated that the NLRB was wrong in demanding Tesla to prove special circumstances. By allowing workers to display union stickers on their team wear, Tesla was not unlawfully interfering with union organizing.
4. What is the status of the separate case involving CEO Elon Musk?
The full 5th Circuit is reviewing Tesla’s appeal of an NLRB decision that stated Elon Musk violated federal labor law with a tweet in 2018, suggesting employees would lose stock options if they joined a union. A three-judge panel previously affirmed the NLRB’s ruling.


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The Natural Wine Movement and Trademarks
With the recent explosion of the natural wine movement, many in the wine industry may be looking to protect marks for these products and may want to incorporate terms like natural or organic into their branding. While many will likely have to disclaim such terms, there may be other options to those that enter the market at this early stage of development of this new wine category.
Specifically, before terms have well-understood meanings in the market, there may be creative ways to carve out protection specific to the wine industry and forward looking TM counsel should not automatically discount such terms.
It will be interesting to watch the market development of this new wine category and whether it can truly develop into a major force in the industry.


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Captain Joe Johnson is proud to announce all-new inshore fishing charters in the Suncoast area. Serving guests from the Sarasota to the Port Charlotte areas, Captain Joe will use his 18 years of fishing experience to provide both amateur and advanced anglers an opportunity to fish the areas bays and estuaries like the pros. - July 16, 2014 - Captain Joe Johnson Charters
FISIBOOK, Fishing Information Services International, is a new web resource that connects the fishing community together. Fishermen can connect with other people who love to fish easily. You can find guides, charters, lodging, services and other resources needed for your next fishing trip. The website is expanding rapidly and they are encouraging new members to join today. It is free. - May 08, 2009 - FISIBOOK, INC


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WASHINGTON — Sales at apparel specialty stores and department stores rose in December despite the nation’s fiscal uncertainty at the end of the year, while sales at discounters remained soft, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s monthly retail sales report released on Wednesday.
Apparel and accessories stores posted a 1 percent seasonally adjusted increase in sales to $20.3 billion in December compared with November, while sales at department stores rose 0.3 percent to $15 billion last month. Sales at general merchandise stores, a category that includes department stores and discounters, were flat at $51.9 billion.
On a year-over-year basis, apparel specialty store sales rose 5.1 percent, while department store sales fell 1.7 percent and general merchandise store sales fell 2 percent.
Economists and retail analysts said retailers held their own in December as consumers increased their spending during the holidays despite the tense talks in Washington to avert the fiscal cliff.
The Obama administration and Congress eventually reached a deal on Jan. 1 that prevented personal income taxes from rising on the middle class.
However, many economists and experts believe retail sales will be soft in the first quarter of 2013 because lawmakers and the White House let a two-year Social Security payroll tax cut expire, leaving consumers with less take-home pay this year.
Kevin Regan, senior managing director at FTI Consulting, said apparel sales in December were stronger than expected but noted that holiday sales performance was uneven.
“There are pockets of growth and there are some troubled retailers out there,” Regan said. “When you look at department stores, [sales] were down 1.7 percent this year versus last year and we have been watching that pattern now for several months.”
Regan said several national chain retailers had a “tough November” because of Hurricane Sandy, which forced store closures at the end of October.
Despite that, the apparel specialty store sector continued to post sales gains. “Apparel had a very good month when you are talking about specialty stores,” he said.”Overall, it seems their numbers were good and people were obviously shopping.”
But Regan said he expects the Social Security payroll tax hike to affect consumers and retail sales.
“I think retailers have taken a cautious view of the first half. They are going to have to figure out how to get consumers to spend when consumers have been reminded that they have less money to use to consume,” Regan said.
In the overall economy, retail sales rose 0.5 percent to $415.7 billion in December.
“Retail sales made a comeback in December and November after a dismal showing in October,” said Chris G. Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. “Holiday shoppers kept spending in December, despite a dramatic drop in consumer confidence about the fiscal cliff.”
Still, he noted that, while holiday retail sales rose 2.7 percent above last year, it was “a poorer than expected showing and considerably lower than the previous two years.”
“Our forecast for consumer spending adjusted for inflation growth is 2.1 percent for the fourth quarter [in 2012],” Christopher said. “However, the first quarter of the new year is likely to end up at a 1.4 percent growth since disposable income is going to take a hit due to the expiry of the payroll tax cut. In addition, if the political bickering over the debt ceiling issue reaches a fever pitch as it did in the summer of 2011, then consumer confidence will nose-dive further into recession territory.”


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Update Have you seen the long-rumored Face ID extension for iPhone Xs? Here is the official product shot and details: From Apple: Face ID now lets you unlock iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max with your face. Face ID is still the only way to unlock your iPhone in most cases and it works even when your phone is set to automatically lock when you set it down. With this update, Face ID unlocks your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max—as
long as you already have your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max handy. If your phone is set to automatically lock, Face ID will only unlock it for you if it detects your face. Make sure your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max is in its charging dock and your iPhone’s proximity sensor and ambient light sensor are all on if you want to use Face ID to unlock your phone. Original post: Apple might have lost a court case last year, but
the company is still doing some impressive work with technology. Just look at the changes its roll-out today. The company announced a series of new products at its Mac event today, including the Apple Watch Series 4. The new watch, which is available in two designs and is 39 percent thinner than its predecessor, has a magnetic charging port and a new high-powered heart-rate sensor, according to a TechCrunch report.
Also new to the Apple Watch is an iSight camera, dual display-Swipe and some new watch faces, according to the Wall Street Journal. Apple announced that the Series 4 will have a lighter body and 4 electrodes for a heart-rate sensor, as per Reuters. It’s available in three different sizes – 38mm or 42mm – and goes on sale today, January 25 at 8 a.m. Perhaps the most incredible innovation revealed today is the health
monitoring service Apple Watch Series 4. The company uses activity data — mainly heart rate — in order to monitor, manage and even prescribe needed care to subscribers, according to the New York Times. The service has been brought in-house and is recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. The service also means your Apple Watch is not required to get you into the “real world” so doctors can
administer certain therapies. Already 200 Apple Watches are being used to regulate anemia and kidney dialysis at a company in Mountain View, Calif. The service should be available to consumers by the end of the year, according to the report. Check out all the new Apple Watches in action in the video above. Read more about Apple here.


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DineEquity, Inc. the parent company of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP restaurants, announced the appointment of Daniel del Olmo as president, international, effective December 16. Del Olmo, who most recently served as senior vice president and managing director of Wyndham Hotel Group for Wyndham Worldwide, was instrumental in the international growth of multiple hotel brands at Wyndham.
With the hiring of del Olmo, DineEquity will for the first time consolidate its international operations and development for the Applebee's and IHOP brands. Del Olmo, who will be based in DineEquity's corporate headquarters in Glendale, California, will lead a single team that will serve the needs of international franchisees and work to grow the global footprint of DineEquity's iconic brands.
"A fundamental priority wherever we do business is to capitalize on every opportunity to leverage the full power of DineEquity and help our franchisees succeed and grow," says Julia A. Stewart, DineEquity, Inc. chairman and CEO. "The success of all our franchisees across the globe is our mission, and the key to the worldwide success and growth of DineEquity is a focus on developing each brand's unique presence around the world. In Daniel, we have found a tremendous leader who has a track record of success."
Del Olmo served 11 years at Wyndham in senior management positions with global scope, and previously served in international roles with Amadeus Global Travel Distribution and Melia Hotels International. During his tenure, Wyndham's international presence experienced significant growth and now includes over 1,200 hotels in 66 countries. Del Olmo also laid the groundwork for future international growth and oversaw the execution of several multi-unit transactions to develop Super8 and Travelodge hotels in Brazil.
"Applebee's and IHOP have great international appeal and tremendous brand equity," says del Olmo. "I'm excited by the opportunity to lead a great team that has the opportunity to enhance operations for both brands in existing markets and to strategically bring the quality food and dining experience each are known for to new countries around the world."
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.


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Market Drivers for October 29, 2013
RBA Stevens says Aussie is overvalued
Dollar stages a rally in Asia session trade
Nikkei -0.49% Europe 0.16%
Europe and Asia:
JPY Unemployment rate 4.0% vs. 4.0%
JPY Retail Sales 3.1% vs. 1.9%
GBP Net Lending Approvals
GBP Mortgage Approvals
CAD RMPI 8:30 AM
USD Retail Sales 8:30 AM
USD PPI 8:30 AM
USD Case Schiller 9:15 AM
USD Consumer Confidence 10:00 AM
The dollar found buyers in a lively Asian session today, but the price action came to a virtual halt in European dealing as currency markets awaited key economic data out of US including a new FOMC statement due tomorrow. In Asia the greenback was strongly bid especially against the pound the and Aussie. Cable slid to a low of 1.6063 after triggering a slew of stops at the 1.6100 level and managed only a half hearted bounce in European trade.
The pair has failed to make fresh highs over the past week and a half and the pressure to take profits after a long protracted rally has finally taken its toll on the unit. Yesterday’s warning by BoE member Miles that rates were likely to remain low for an extended period of time and that a hike would be disastrous for the UK economy underline the fragile nature of the recovery and added to the selling pressure in sterling.
Although recent UK economic data has been consistently better than the rest of the G-10, currency traders are concerned that the numbers may have peaked in the summer and that the next batch of reports may show a slowdown in the rate of improvement. The UK PMI reports do not kick off until Friday with the release of the Manufacturing sector data, but if the number surprise to the downside, the pair could quickly drift lower to test 1.5900 support.
Meanwhile in Australia the Aussie came under assault after RBA Governor Stevens in a speech to a Investment conference noted that the Aussie was unusually high and was not supported by fundamentals. Governor Stevens stated that given the declining terms of trade the AUD will be materially lower in the foreseeable future.
In an interesting sidenote Governor Stevens indicated that the start of US policy normalisation by the Fed would lessen the RBA’s own policy difficulties. Clearly the RBA believes that the appreciation in AUD/USD is driven primarily to the Fed’s delay to taper QE rather than by intrinsic strength of the currency and Mr. Stevens’ remarks suggest a sense of frustration by Australian monetary authorities who no doubt would like to see their own currency lower in order to rebalance the economy.
Aussie tumbled toward the 9500 level but stopped just short of that barrier as reported option expiration activity held sellers at bay. But the pair could breach that level later in the data as North American traders come on line.
In North American trade today the focus will turn to US Retail Sales. The market is actually expecting a jump in the core number to 0.4% from 0.1% the month prior. The data will not reflect the dampening impact of the government shutdown so it may have less impact on trade than usual. Nevertheless, if the number prints in line or better they could provide a modicum of fresh energy for the dollar rally and help push all the high beta currencies to new daily lows as the session progresses.


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CULLMAN, Ala. — Tuscaloosa residents who offer rides to others through the ridesharing service Uber soon could find themselves in handcuffs.
A Tuscaloosa city spokeswoman confirmed to Watchdog.org on Wednesday the city will follow through on an ultimatum issued last week — drivers could be put behind bars for violating Tuscaloosa’s vehicle-for-hire ordinance, a misdemeanor.
“The city has decided to step up and possibly arrest drivers,” spokeswoman Deidre Stalnaker said. “We could have done that from the start.”
The start she references is shortly after Uber began operations in the home of the University of Alabama on Aug. 28, when Tuscaloosa police officers began issuing warnings to Uber drivers that they could be violating the city’s vehicle-for-hire law.
Unlike hailing a cab from the street or calling a limo service and setting up an appointment, ridesharing companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar work strictly through the free smartphone apps they offer to customers.


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BMW shares fell by nearly ten percent immediately after Auto Bild’s report was published, the biggest drop recorded in four years. The European standard took effect September 1.
In a detailed report, BMW claimed that there was no difference in the urea exhaust gas treatment when either on the road or on the test bench. “Clear, binding specifications and processes are in place through all phases of development at the BMW Group in order to avoid wrongdoing“. “No specific details of the test have yet been provided and therefore we can not explain these results”, BMW said. It is obvious that all carmakers will now come under scrutiny, although German ones even more so. Additionally, the report did not indicate discrepancies between lab and field tests, which was the case with Volkswagen. The German Green party says ministers were aware of problems this summer, but didn’t act. The new test is meant to bridge the gap between testing and real-life driving. That makes European standard about two and a half times as lax as the American one, although it must be noted they run different test cycles.
Carmakers in Europe argue that diesel cars are essential to achieving a mandatory European Union target of reducing average carbon dioxide emissions from new passenger cars to 95 grams per kilometre by 2020.
“The results indicate that the implementation of nitrogen-oxides control technologies by a few manufacturers is delivering acceptable results over both cycles”, Vicente Franco, an global Council on Clean Transportation researcher, said after the study.
ICCT also found a gap between real-world and lab performance in BMWs X3, Germanys Autobild magazine reported.
Volkswagen was challenged by authorities as far back as 2014 over tests showing emissions exceeded California state and US federal limits, but held off admitting wrongdoing until regulators threatened to withhold certification for its 2016 diesel models. Volkswagen A.G. said it will voluntarily submit a complaint to German officials to launch a criminal investigation.
VWs supervisory board will discuss the Winterkorns replacement on Friday following the CEOs abrupt resignation Wednesday.
But some analysts are skeptical that will be enough, with the company disclosing that 11 million of its cars were fitted with Type EA 189 engines that had shown a “noticeable deviation” in emission levels between testing and road use.
According to the Spartanburg County factory website, the facility produced 11,678 X3 vehicles in July, second in production to the X5. What happens in Europe is vital as Europe accounts for about three-quarters of sales of diesel cars worldwide.
“The story has sent shock waves through the auto market, with dealers in the United States reporting people holding back from buying diesel cars and “#dieselgate” trending on Twitter.
In a statement, BMW insisted it does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests, adding, “We observe the legal requirement in each country and adhere to all local testing requirements”.
“We support the swift introduction of the new regulations to create clarity for consumers and the industry as quickly as possible”, the company said.


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SHANGHAI -- Japan's Aeon opened a new research center in Shanghai with a local startup, aiming to reshape the future of retail by harnessing leading Chinese technologies like artificial intelligence and electronic payments.
The retailer demonstrated some new advancements at the facility. One robot greeted attendees with "ni hao!" -- hello in Chinese -- as it moved around the floor. Placing one's palm over the robot's sensor opens a compartment with refreshments and sweets inside. Customers whose palm prints are registered with cashless settlement services like Alibaba Group Holding's Alipay will automatically complete payment as they grab their snack.
Refrigerators outfitted with sensors also open via palm print, and cameras confirm which product is being taken. Payment is automatically completed and all the customer has to do is close the door to finish shopping.
The technology was developed by Aeon's Shanghai-based partner DeepBlue Technology, which specializes in such cutting-edge technologies as AI, unmanned stores and robots for retail. The startup's TakeGo checkout system, which uses facial-recognition technology to automatically bill shoppers, is moving toward commercialization at Chinese retailers and elsewhere. The company has even received funding from China's e-commerce leader Alibaba.
The research center will be operated by AeonDelight DeepBlue Technology, a joint venture between the retailer's facility-management subsidiary and DeepBlue. It will first introduce a security system and cleaning robots to an Aeon shopping center opening in Jiangsu Province next spring, then bring the technology to roughly 80 locations in China, with plans to sell to other retailers as well.
Aeon's Chinese operating income, equivalent to sales, rose 8% in the fiscal year ended February to 262 billion yen ($2.4 billion), but the retailer still suffered an operating loss of 1.5 billion yen. Improving the profitability of Chinese operations is imperative for Aeon, since the country is central to its overseas strategy, but there is another goal as well. China has become a major laboratory for Aeon's digital strategy, a priority for the company.
The world's second-biggest economy is a global leader in developing automated stores that use technologies like AI, and Aeon aims to gather know-how from its Chinese operations and apply it to businesses in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
The retail group is especially keen on China's electronic-settlement technology. Mobile-payment services like Alipay and Tencent Holdings' WeChat Pay are exploding in Southeast Asia. Experimental shops with automated services or no staff at all are popping up throughout China as companies incorporate new information technologies into physical stores, with smartphone payments at the center.
Yet Japan's retail industry has been slow to pick up electronic payments and other digital technologies. In the past, Japanese retailers cultivated new markets by exporting their customer service and product development expertise, but companies like Aeon are now importing ideas and technology from China.
"We want to enter new markets based on experience gained from China, our major proving grounds," said Motoyuki Shikata, president of the joint venture.
Aeon has grown into Japan's largest distributor through a series of mergers and acquisitions. But such trends as the rise of online retailing have rapidly transformed how consumers shop as companies like Amazon.com encroach on the company's general merchandise stores and other mainstay businesses.
The company will invest 500 billion yen in information technology and logistics by fiscal 2020 to automate distribution and develop services connecting physical stores with online sales. It may also use technology developed in Japan eventually.
"Traditional methods no longer apply as the retail environment undergoes significant change," said Aeon President and CEO Motoya Okada at a recent shareholders meeting.


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For years, chemical manufacturers and distributors enjoyed a relatively stable industry. However, the last two years have forced chemical companies into a choice: use digital technologies to drive growth or be left with an antiquated, easily disrupted sales process. Yoav Kutner, CEO, Oro Inc., explains why digital B2B commerce is proving to be a significant growth opportunity for the chemical industry and why it will likely gain even more traction in 2022.
After being hit hard by supply chain disruptions and a severe drop in end-market demand over the course of the last year, more than 90% of executives in the chemicals industry expect1 digitalisation to result in evolutionary, revolutionary, or disruptive change.
The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) stated that “the industry is gradually changing from a supplier of materials to a provider of solutions and services”, and an EY survey shows that digitalisation in chemicals is starting to accelerate.
While the chemical industry has been on the forefront of driving materials innovation, notoriously it has been slower than other industries to move its sales processes online. However, leaders in the chemical industry are now beginning to push the button on digitalisation of business processes. In the boardroom, digital transformation is now viewed as more than a means to improve efficiency or customer experience – it’s the catalyst for innovation and value creation.
Today, a new, more competitive environment is taking shape. The industry is highly diverse in size, geographic reach, business model and customer type; while evolving technology, business practices and customer expectations are quickly raising the bar for B2B practices.
Chemical enterprises are feeling pressure from greater competition, rising commodity prices, changing regulatory requirements and most importantly the push for sustainability. These trends are driving the greater adoption of digital strategies and will continue to be a key investment driver in the years ahead. According to Deloitte2, high-performing chemical companies that derive the most value out of innovation typically utilise digital technologies to create a better customer experience.
Digital transformation is disrupting B2B commerce in the chemicals industry, bringing in efficiencies through better price transparency, reliability of the supply chain, knowledge of the underlying chemistry and regulatory guidelines for targeting end applications. Companies and platforms must be part of these ecosystems if they are to be even remotely relevant across the chemical industry value chain.
One organisation that has embraced digital technologies is Azelis – a specialty chemical and food ingredients distributor operating in 56 countries and serving more than 45,000 business customers, with annual sales of £1.95 billion.
Its customer-oriented digital strategy focuses on growing relationships within its ecosystem and optimising complex supply chains. This allows the company to better understand various market trends, keeping the product portfolio and solution focus customer-centric.
Heli Kilpala, Group Strategy and Digitalisation Director at Azelis, says: “We have seen a twofold efficiency gain with digital tools, both for employees and customers.”
Digital tools such as ERP, CRM, MDM, PIM and eCommerce have enabled data centralisation. Centralising information around data governance and processes has eliminated many duplicated efforts. The result is added freedom from routine tasks, more time for value-added activities, better focus on customers and the agility to quickly react to trends.
A digital-first approach meant that Azelis was well-equipped to pick up market activity, react to new customer needs, and plan production accordingly.
Azelis also took the opportunity to accelerate the deployment of digital platforms such as its e-Lab, a virtual collaboration center to optimise formulations, and a customer portal with both eCommerce capabilities, technical and informational insights.
Traditionally, chemical sales are an in-person activity. Azelis realised that moving some aspects online could improve the journey and experience for suppliers and customers. The process, however, wasn’t easy.
Regulatory and compliance requirements vary between locations and chemical products. Chemical customers must do extensive research and collect documentation about their products, so the discovery process can be long. Its new portal – developed with implementation partner Smile – is the central depository where customers can find high-quality technical information, products, formulation, and samples, and the most up-to-date information for their projects.
The first portal launched in July 2020 with new rollouts every month, and 38 portals currently in operation.
Benefits of digitalisation
Here are just a few of the broad benefits that chemical distributors experience with digitalisation.
The pandemic shattered global supply chains, leading many manufacturers and distributors to think more locally. Companies in the chemical sector need the agility necessary to pivot to new, adjacent markets as they are identified. Data informs insights into processes and production lines to identify where and when retooling future-proofs the company.
Today, everyone from startups to tech giants leverages digital tools to enhance decision-making, introduce new products, and reduce data silos. As competition increases, brands will be pushed to increase efficiencies wherever possible, reduce costs, and preserve value. Digital tools automate processes, centralise data, and allow everyone to work more efficiently.
Enhanced customer experiences
Chemical companies must adopt a broad range of digitally enabled processes and practices to be more effective in marketing and reach customers.
In today’s digitally connected world, chemical companies are no longer measured by their ability to launch new products. Instead, experience leaders enhance customer journeys with greater transparency, shorter buyer cycles, logistics services, and other value-added products.
Covid-19 and beyond
The relative health and diversity of the chemicals market means that the industry will continue to grow through 2022 and beyond. While traditionally the industry has been a late digital adopter, we now have hard evidence that eCommerce sales have been on a growth trajectory in recent years.
Long before the pandemic, the chemical industry was inching towards digital transformation at a glacial pace as a means to supplement offline channels. The impact of Covid-19 accelerated the development and adoption of digital technologies.
Before starting the conversation with your digital commerce vendor, understand how your digitalisation strategy fits your organisation and ecosystem and identify how improved processes will benefit your partners and customers.
1 How long before the digital disruption reaches the chemical industry? https://www.ey.com/en_uk/advanced-manufacturing/how-long-before-the-digital-disruption-reaches-the-chemicals-industry.
2 Innovation in chemicals https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/oil-and-gas/chemical-innovation.html


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By Adam Carey
Victorians risk paying an average $50 a year more than they should on their water bills over the next five years because of unnecessarily high charges that flow into state government coffers, an analysis has found.
Consumer advocates have called on the Andrews government to reform its financing arrangements with Victoria’s state-owned water companies, arguing this would save consumers about $770 million on their water bills in the next five years.
The Andrews government is in the final stages of a review of Victorian water retailers’ prices, which will determine how much the companies can charge their customers over the next five years.
Government regulator the Essential Services Commission is in charge of the review and is due to release determinations on water pricing by late May or early June.
It has said it wants to push down customers’ bills by cutting out unnecessary expenditure by water corporations.
The new pricing arrangements will take effect on July 1.
But an analysis has found consumers will continue to bear the burden of higher charges passed on by the water corporations unless the state government is willing to accept a cut to the revenue it derives from those companies.
Victoria’s water companies, such as Yarra Valley Water, City West Water and South East Water, are all publicly owned and funded by the state.
However, the amount of interest they pay to the state on debts and the returns they get on equity are equivalent to what private corporations pay.
The Consumer Action Law Centre has argued in a submission to the Essential Services Commission that the arrangement leads the water corporations to pay higher interest than a publicly owned company should and imposes unnecessary costs on households.
Victoria’s water corporations pay about 6.05 per cent interest on debt, a level that normally applies to commercial entities with a BBB-credit rating, the submission found.
A report commissioned by Consumer Action recommends that the Essential Services Commission set the cost of debt at around 5 per cent, or 100 basis points lower.
The report, by economic consultancy CME, notes that Victorian water companies are government-owned entities that present less risk than a private corporation as well as delivering societal benefits through their operations.
It argues they should be able to borrow on lower terms that reflect this reality.
"In determining revenue requirements for returns on equity and costs of debt, the Essential Services Commission should not charge water consumers more for the equity or debt than it costs the government to provide it," the submission states.
Gerard Brody, the Consumer Action Law Centre’s chief executive, said Victoria’s water companies had a role to play to make sure bills were affordable for everybody.
“This independent study reinforces our view that there is an opportunity for the Essential Services Commission to take further action to hold down bills,” Mr Brody said.
“Many people contacting our financial counselling service are struggling to pay for essential services.”
Lisa Neville, Victoria's Minister for Water, said water prices were expected to fall after the review's recommendations take effect.
"Water corporations expect water prices to continue to fall over the next five years for the vast majority of Victorians, with the average Melbourne household bill falling by around $30 to $40 before inflation each year," Ms Neville said.
Victorian urban and regional water corporation bills are below the Australian average.
Average Melbourne household bills for 2016-17 were $82 below Sydney bills and $162 below Adelaide bills.


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If you’re concerned about your company’s carbon footprint, take heart: two companies have collaborated to produce what they say is the first ever dye derived from cotton plant-residues.
Known as EarthColors, the patented technology creates dyes in warm, ternary shades from nature. EarthColors addresses two key concerns of the textile industry: sustainability and traceability. Most dyes are synthetic and oil-based; EarthColors is a biosynthetic alternative that utilizes natural waste from the agricultural or herbal industry.
This latest innovation comes through a partnership between chemicals company Archroma, and industry group Cotton Incorporated.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The odds of an interest rate cut have increased Wednesday, after the release of weaker-than-expected durable goods orders data. July fed funds futures were trading up 0.03 at 94.85, which implies a 40% chance that the Federal Reserve will lower its target for overnight rates to 5% from 5.25% by the end of their policy setting meeting on June 28. Late Tuesday, the odds of a rate cut stood at 28%. Orders for durables goods rose 2.5% in February, the U.S. Commerce Department said, while economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting a rise of 3.8%, on average. Excluding transportation orders, durable goods orders fell by 0.1%.
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Building the Whole Foods of China
The cavernous packaging floor at Tony Zhang’s flagship Nanhui farm, 40 miles west of his Shanghai headquarters, looks like a set from Barbarella—all plexiglass and stainless steel. Workers wear coveralls, gloves, and hairnets as they spray piles of fresh-picked produce with water from hoses that hang from the ceiling. Other employees in matching jumpsuits hand-dry the fruits and vegetables and place them in bags that bear the motto “Organic Starts From Tony’s Farm.” Across the room, in a glassed-in laboratory, goggled scientists test samples of each crop for bacteria and chemical residues.
As he strides onto the floor, Zhang, 51, is immaculate in an olive blazer, white T-shirt, and tailored jeans. He greets Abby Ding, his new director of operations, who oversees packaging and distribution, and the two begin discussing Zhang’s quality-control standards. Ding gestures to a bag of carrots grown at Nanhui, an urban farm with almost 300 acres of fields and greenhouses. Inside the plastic are 11 perfectly conical carrots and one slightly gnarled one. Zhang frowns the way a parent might at an impossible child. He removes the rogue carrot and chucks it in the reject pile.
“But isn’t that the way a carrot naturally grows?” asks Ding.
“Yes,” Zhang replies, “but we cannot sell it.” Carrots must grow perfectly straight if you are charging top dollar, he tells Ding, recounting a complaint from a customer who found a snail on her head of lettuce. “Of course the snail is natural, a sign of healthy soil,” he says. “But our customer didn’t see it that way.”
Such are the dictates of the luxury market. And Zhang’s organic vegetables are most certainly luxury items in China. They aren’t Prius-caliber luxury, but Tesla-caliber luxury—so there’s little margin for error, and customers expect perfection.
Given the explosive growth of China’s urban elite in recent years, there’s money to be made catering to finicky demands. Since 2009, Zhang’s customer base has grown 20 percent to 50 percent a year. Zhang has reeled in $40 million from Western and Chinese investors and millions more in government subsidies. His company generates revenue of $18 million to $24 million a year, and he says he now runs one of China’s largest organic farming and retailing operations, spanning thousands of acres across eight provinces.
“I want to build the Whole Foods of China,” he says later, sitting on a terrace outside his downtown Shanghai office, sipping a glass of honeydew juice the color of kryptonite. He gushes about the quality of his melons: “They are the best you have ever tasted.” Zhang has a penchant for braggadocio (his gleaming silver Bentley is parked not 35 feet away on the pedestrian walkway), but he also has legitimate standing in China’s foodie world. Before founding Tony’s Farm, he was the owner of Tony’s Spicy Kitchen, a popular restaurant he expanded to 33 locations in six years. Zhang plans to scale up his farming enterprise just as aggressively.
“I admire the model of Earthbound Farm,” he says, referring to the California-based company founded in 1986 that now has 53,000 acres producing organic fruits and vegetables on three continents. “It took 28 years to grow the company [to its current size]. I am confident it will take me 10 years to become as big as Earthbound.”
Zhang’s business model, however, differs from that of Earthbound, a wholesaler, and of Whole Foods. Tony’s Farm has no physical store. Instead, its almost 100,000 subscribers—individuals, families, companies, schools, restaurants, boutique markets, and large retailers in Shanghai and Beijing—submit their orders online, and the company delivers the food, grown on its farms, within 24 to 48 hours. Most subscribers prepay and get weekly deliveries of whatever is in season, staples such as carrots, tomatoes, peppers, and berries, along with Chinese delicacies like red amaranth leaves, sponge gourds, purple begonia greens, wood-ear mushrooms, and yardlong beans. They can also order organic meats, eggs, oils, grains, and pantry products that Zhang sources from other suppliers.
Filling the roles of farmer, e-retailer, and distributor has its challenges. “When I started in the organic industry, people thought I was crazy,” Zhang says. “China’s water and land has been contaminated. The cleanup comes at great expense.” Zhang has had to shoulder the dizzying price of cleaning polluted soil and water—which he says has added up to hundreds of millions of dollars over the past eight years. And unlike most farmers, he’s also had the enormous expense of building and maintaining a “farm-to-kitchen” logistics system to store and transport produce from fields to customers’ homes. He passes these costs on to consumers: His prices are about three times the average for conventional Chinese produce (the equivalent of about $2.65 per pound vs. 80¢). Earthbound and Whole Foods customers, by comparison, pay a much smaller premium. But his consumers will shell out for safety and superiority, he says: “Trust and quality are the DNA of our brand.”
At a time when China is widely criticized for its pollution-choked cities, toxic waterways, and soaring cancer rates, Zhang sees his enterprise, at least in part, as a form of public-health advocacy and environmental do-goodism. His healthy products, he says, are necessities, not frivolities. But to what extent can selling high-end eggplants to China’s 1 Percenters really improve the nation’s environment? Is Zhang mobilizing a broader shift toward sustainability in China or securing a niche market?
Zhang’s customers are understandably concerned—if not totally freaked out—about China’s food system. In recent years inspectors have reported arsenic in apple juice, formaldehyde on cabbages, rice laced with cadmium, diseased pigs sold as fresh pork, rat meat sold as lamb, watermelons exploding from chemical growth accelerators. “Two hundred million Chinese every year get sick from bacterial contamination of food,” says Junshi Chen, senior adviser to the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. In the last decade, Chinese authorities have executed two workers for food-related crimes and imprisoned thousands more.
Solving the problem may take a long time: China has more than 100 million commercial farms, most of which span only a few acres (by comparison, there are 2 million in the U.S.). It’s all but impossible for Chinese authorities to enforce standards in a food system so decentralized. To maximize yields, millions of Chinese farmers are applying more than double the U.S. allowable levels of pesticides and fertilizers. And many are planting in soil heavily contaminated with mercury, nickel, and arsenic.
The food-safety problem stems in large part from the nation’s broader environmental quagmire: Rampant pollutants from mines, power plants, and factories are making their way into the country’s fields. China has 20 percent of the world’s population and only 9 percent of its arable land. The ministries of agriculture and technology have ponied up trillions of yuan in subsidies to help farmers speed up land and water cleanup. Zhang has benefited handsomely from this. “The government builds the stage that we act on,” he says. “It is a very good relationship.”
A growing number of competitors are vying for a slice of China’s nascent health-food market. Organic certifications more than doubled between 2009 and 2013, according to government data, even as the certification process has become more costly and stringent. Sales of organic foods produced on Chinese farms soared during that period, reaching 80 billion yuan ($13 billion) in 2012. Certified-organic products represent less than 1 percent of the nation’s total food sales. In Europe and the U.S., organic products account for 6 percent to 8 percent.
Chinese farmers and retailers are entering the fray alongside brands from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the U.S. Wal-Mart Stores has been ramping up its organic offerings in China and will triple its spending on food safety there, to $48.2 million, by 2016. U.S. dairy company Organic Valley, which entered the market in 2000, now sells millions of cartons of organic milk in China per year. Given taxes and tariffs, each carton sells for more than twice its U.S. price, and many times more than conventional local milk. “Brand matters to Chinese consumers,” says Pete Bassett, Organic Valley’s global sales director. “Even with the high premium, our sales are doubling every year.”
Among the Chinese brands that have begun to gain ground are online organic retailers such as FieldsChina.com, which delivers products to 200 cities in China, and KateandKimi.com, which both farms and sells organic produce and is popular among young consumers. These companies were founded by Western-born entrepreneurs. They cater to China’s expat populations through English-language websites and with special product offerings such as bagels, Duncan Hines cake mixes, and Hellmann’s mayo. While a small fraction of Tony’s Farm subscribers are expats, Zhang isn’t going after Westerners.
Like Zhang, Tom Chen, the senior manager of Mahota Farm, another fast-growing Shanghai-based organic farming business, foresees a broader shift toward sustainability in the Chinese food system: As public awareness grows, there’s the unavoidable reality that conventional farms will put themselves out of business if they don’t adopt more efficient growing methods. “Crops fail when you run out of clean water or grow in soil damaged by too many pesticides and fertilizers,” he says. Mahota Farm generates profits from the 20,000 pigs it raises for organic pork sales and invests them in organic crop production. Farms like Mahota and Tony’s that start out with extra capital “have freedom to experiment with new technologies and methods for sustainable farming that’s radically efficient,” says Chen. The best of this tech will eventually trickle down into mainstream farms, and “that benefits everyone,” he says—reducing water use and pesticides, cutting farmers’ costs, improving human health and the environment.
China has four designations of food labeling for “sustainable produce,” says Manuela Zoninsein, CEO of Beijing-based Smart Agriculture Analytics. The top category is “organic,” one step down is “green,” then “ecological.” The fourth is “nonharmful.” Zoninsein sees organic remaining an elite category and the others becoming widely accessible. “As organic methods improve,” she says, “that in turn will influence these broader-reaching categories.”
Even if the organic market remains a niche, it’s still sizable by Western standards, says Organic Valley’s Bassett. Just 1 percent of the market would encompass the grocery bills for almost 14 million consumers in China’s eight wealthiest East Coast cities. If it gets to 5 percent, that’s 70 million customers. “Our potential market is very big,” Zhang says.
Zhang grew up in a small village outside the city of Yibin in Sichuan province. It was the kind of setting you see on postcards: emerald mountains, bamboo forests, and waterfalls. Like all Chinese of his generation, Zhang was an only child, and he spent his free time hiking and exploring outdoors.
His parents and grandparents were farmers. “I had a special feeling about agriculture growing up,” he says, recalling the steady, natural rhythms of farming.
Zhang graduated from the Sichuan Agricultural University at 19. He worked in the local ministry of agriculture within the Yibin government, moving to Shanghai at 28 to work for Shanghai Ouya International Trade Co., which sold products ranging from pharmaceuticals to metals. Six years later, after moving up the ranks, Zhang bought the company—a move that helped him fund his future enterprises. Then, homesick for Sichuan cuisine, he founded Tony’s Spicy Kitchen in 1997.
As his restaurant enterprise grew, Zhang noticed a decline in the quality of his ingredients. “The taste of the produce just wasn’t right,” he says. “Too bland. Bad texture. Nowhere close to the flavor of my childhood.” He began to investigate, touring the farms that grew the ingredients. The farmers had two plots of land—one organic, for their family, and a separate commercial farm heavily treated with pesticides and other chemicals designed to speed crop growth. It galled Zhang that his suppliers didn’t consider their commercial produce safe enough for their own tables.
In 2005, within months of this discovery, Zhang sold his restaurant chain, leased his first 290 acres of land in Nanhui, and incorporated Shanghai Tony Agriculture Development (later switching to Tony’s Farm). He began researching best practices in the organic agriculture industry. In 2009, after carrying out a three-year cleanup job on the Nanhui soil and water, Zhang began to deliver organic vegetables to his first batch of customers.
Although he soon had thousands of subscribers, Zhang wasn’t in a rush to expand his business just yet. What had troubled him in his research was the realization that “farmers don’t want to spend the time necessary to grow animals and crops naturally,” he says, citing the example that pigs are traditionally grown for years before they go to market and now it’s often just months. Zhang says he wanted to restore traditional agriculture values. “I wanted to follow nature.”
At Sichuan Agricultural University, Zhang studied under Jiang Hong, the man he has since appointed chief scientist of Tony’s Farm. Hong, a specialist in agricultural technology, advised Zhang that a combination of intelligent sensors and software could improve a farm’s efficiency. Hong says he has since brokered research relationships between Tony’s Farm and Chinese universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China’s MIT), to design a unique smart-farming system. It manages all aspects of crop growth as well as the packaging, storage, online sales, deliveries, and quality control.
Sensors in the soil monitor the “microclimates” of each crop, gathering data on temperature, humidity, acidity, microbe activity, and light absorption. Five technicians on Hong’s team, like traders watching stock tickers, spend their days parsing data streamed from the sensors in real time from various locations to the Tony’s Farm office in downtown Shanghai.
If sensors detect low levels of moisture in the soil of a certain potato crop, for instance, the system will automatically activate a sprinkler system, restoring only as much moisture as the plant needs. This kind of precision irrigation is a key advantage, given China’s drought problems and the high cost of fresh water. Over the course of the year, Tony’s Farm grows more than 120 crop varieties at its various locations; the system knows the needs of each and can anticipate the impact of fluctuating conditions.
In theory, Hong’s team is doing remote-control farming. But crops often have problems that require hands-on care. When they do, the Shanghai technicians dispatch field hands to troubleshoot. The system also helps save energy by monitoring the refrigeration temperature of every storage unit and delivery truck and charting fuel-efficient routes for each delivery. (Zhang makes his product-tracking technology a marketing virtue: Customers can use their smartphones to scan labels on each item they purchase to learn how it was grown, watch a video feed of the fruits and vegetables growing, and get data on the soil and water quality of the field it came from.)
“Organic farming typically requires more labor” than conventional farming, says Hong, “which can be expensive, especially when the farm is in an urban area and the cost of labor is high.” But almost all of Zhang’s farmland is in or near Shanghai or Beijing, because growing food in urban areas is more cost-effective than trucking it in from afar, given the primitive road system, high fuel prices, and lack of cold-storage facilities. Recently, though, Zhang has begun to lease land in more remote parts of China, including a new 450-acre farm in Sichuan province near his hometown. Airfreighting this rural produce to cities has proven cheaper than trucking food grown using urban labor and in soil that had to be cleaned up.
Still, a major portion of Zhang’s working capital goes to the hundreds of farmers who tend his land. He’s been able to keep his labor force lean because, says Hong, the more information he can gather and analyze about crop conditions, the fewer farmhands he needs.
These smart-farming technologies have yet to fatten Zhang’s bottom line. Jason Li, the managing director of Tsing Capital and a private equity investor in Tony’s Farm, is uncomfortably aware that organic agriculture is a slow-growth investment. “We want to see faster growth,” he says, “but this is such a capital-intensive and time-consuming business.” Once the long soil-cleaning process has been carried out, fields can’t be densely crammed with crops to boost per-acre yields, as in conventional farming, because that makes them vulnerable to insects and disease. There are also limits to product variety if you sell only what grows seasonally and in certain climates.
Customers who buy luxury goods don’t have patience, and they don’t like limits, says Li. Nor do investors: Zhang must expand his business rapidly if he wants to go public. But the more quickly he tries to scale it, the harder it is to adhere to the core principles of organic farming.
Every few weeks, Li gets a call from Zhang asking to meet for dinner or a drink. He wants to hash out a new hire or marketing concept. “It will be midnight when he finally says he has to leave, he has an early-morning flight,” says Li. “He is quite energetic.”
While Zhang seeks advice from his investors, he also pushes back. It was Zhang’s investors who pushed him to start selling organic meats, eggs, oils, and other products from outside suppliers—a move he resisted at first. He may ultimately have to acquiesce to further pressures to sell a wider range of foods, including off-season produce, and perhaps even to include produce labeled “natural” and not certified organic, so he can expand more quickly. “I tell him Whole Foods is not 100 percent organic” in its product offerings, says Li.
Zhang says his prices will come down, but he also insists that for his company to succeed—and lead the way toward sustainable agriculture—it’s not his prices that need to change but the mindset of Chinese consumers.
“The problem is not that organic is too expensive in China,” says Zhang. “The current price of organic food here is the same as in the U.S. The problem is that conventional food in China is so cheap—a fraction of what it costs in the U.S.” These prices don’t reflect the hidden health costs, which for the millions of Chinese eating toxic and carcinogenic foods could be very high. It’s better for middle-class Chinese to invest in safe food that costs more, Zhang argues, than to buy cheap food that makes them sick. “The consumer mentality should be: Let’s pay the farmer, not the hospital.” Chen, at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, cautions that luxury legumes, even with economies of scale, are a far cry from a public-health panacea: “We cannot depend on our organic farming to solve the food-safety issue for 1.3 billion people.”
Zhang, for now, is content with appealing to China’s urban elite. He also understands he’ll be hard-pressed to attract customers with negative messaging. “Chinese consumers have an obsession with buying the best,” he says. “I remember when Coca-Cola came out with that slogan ‘Coke Is It!’ and Chinese mothers were running around after their kids saying, ‘Drink this! It’s the best!’ Our challenge is to redefine ‘the best,’ ” says Zhang, “so that in China it means food that doesn’t hurt you but makes you healthy, energetic—alive.” As Li sees it, the movement will build when Chinese understand that “eating healthy food is not a luxury—it is a lifestyle of success.”
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Business is booming for Iraq as its key oil export revenues set fresh record highs (MEES, 8 July), but there is a flip side of high oil prices for Opec’s second largest producer. Its overstretched refining sector is unable to meet demand, meaning Baghdad has to import gasoline and diesel. And those imports now come with a big price tag.
Refining crack spreads have surged to record levels this year, and the 1.514mn tons (around 12.4mn barrels, 130,000 b/d) of middle distillates and gasoline that Iraq imported in Q1 cost $1.54bn according to state oil marketer Somo. As such the Q1 bill was almost half of that for the whole of 2021, when Iraq paid $3.3bn for 4.71mn tons (104,000 b/d) of products imports. The bad news for Iraq is that the spreads widened further in Q2, meaning that the bill will have risen further given that there was no sign of a drop off in import volumes. (CONTINUED - 1084 WORDS)


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One Laptop Per Child had promised us a working prototype of a tablet during CES slated to begin on Jan 6 next year. The tablet is supposed to cater to the requirements of the general public and was hailed as the first device that would mark OLPC’s entry into the mainstream market. Unfortunately, the tablet is the latest to be hit by the delay bug. OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte announced they are adding 45 more days to the schedule to come up with the first working prototypes.
As for the reason for the delay, Negroponte stated it can be attributed to their inability to come across a layer that they feel is suitable enough to make up the touch screen surface of the tablet which might be Pixel Qi. What they are looking for is a surface that is flexible enough to withstand abuse. While the good old plastic might fit the bill and was indeed in the scheme of things initially, OLPC is also not ruling out glass for the job.
However flexible the surface might be, don’t expect it to be flexible enough to allow for rolling up the tablet. While that isn’t ruled out in the future, the device that comes out on February of 2011 will be one more conventional tablet.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in the world of technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles as well, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. Motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot and maybe I’ll make a film sometime in the future.


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India on $1,000 a Day
Published in The New York Times | January 2012 | By Shivani Vora
City hopping by private jet, mingling with maharajas in their palaces, hanging out with world famous artists in their ateliers or being serenaded by a group of classical musicians in the middle of the desert – for a tiny, elite group, travel in India is far removed from the backpacker trail.
Inexpensive food and lodging are still readily available in India, and the country still draws a patchouli-scented crowd. But a subset of globetrotters are booking lavish holidays that stretch into six figures, taking advantage of India’s fast-growing “luxury infrastructure” – goods and services popular with India’s own expanding pool of deep-pocketed businessmen and travel connoisseurs.
Read the whole article at The New York Times


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Agriculture continues to evolve as time goes by and it is good to anticipate the changes we can expect from the sector decades from now. Here is a list of what we could probably expect from the farms of tomorrow: 카지노사이트
Seeing how farming slowly changes from traditional to modern practices, technology plays an important role in this development. Technologies like drones and telematics crops sensors make it faster and easier for farmers to increase the farm’s productivity by reduced physical labor.
While not all farmers can afford these modern devices, these will likely have low-cost versions in the future as demand and popularity increases. Precision agriculture technology, which includes the management of individual crops, fields, and animals, is also becoming popular and is expected to improve in the future. Robots that can plant and provide the needs of each crop is being explored by experts as well.
Growing food production
As the world population increases, it will make food production accelerate even more. The demand will be overwhelming and will inspire more people to take part in agriculture and farm technology for the sake of food security.
Evolving consumer choices
Every generation has different food choices and agriculture adjusts to this call. Looking at today’s consumers, they are more health-conscious than the consumers before, which also means future consumers will probably demand for organic and farm-to-table food, something that farms should eventually prepare for. 안전한카지노사이트
Better “fake” meat
As more people become mindful of what they eat, companies are envisioned to produce more realistic plant-based burgers in the coming times. If this happens, an ascending production in corn and soybean awaits. However, this doesn’t mean that the beef sector must be alarmed as the population of vegans and vegetables hasn’t gotten bigger over the decades, therefore, there will always be a market for “real” meat.
Along with the expected boom of future population, vertical farming might also gain more attention in future farms. This might be a way to increase their productivity without having to take up more space, unlike what traditional farms require. 카지노사이트 추천
Indeed, all things connected to agriculture aren’t certain, considering the natural occurrences, future laws, and other changes relating to it but current events can help us learn to determine what lies ahead for the industry.


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Suppliers stuck playing Santa
HOW long can HMV rely on its suppliers to play Santa Claus? At the start of 2012, the long-suffering entertainment retailer forged a closer alliance with suppliers in return for a 2.5 per cent stake. Their support is understood to have run into tens of millions of pounds already, and to include supplying goods on consignment – sale or return – this Christmas. But it looks like cash-strapped HMV may already be returning to the well.
Chief executive Trevor Moore yesterday referred to HMV’s support from its suppliers and then said that developing that relationship further would be a key focus for next year.
HMV’s suppliers might wince to hear that their generosity has only just begun to be tested, but do they have much choice? HMV may not seem to have any cards left in its hand, but as the last big bricks and mortar supplier of CDs and DVDs, the major content owners like Universal Music need its high street presence to counterbalance the threat from low-margin digital files or deep online discounts from Amazon for the same physical goods. If HMV buckles, it will be a late Christmas gift for Jeff Bezos.
HMV is in terrible shape. Its interim results yesterday were below already low expectations. Having to sell off some of its more successful side projects like HMV Live to raise cash can bring only short term relief at best. But its massively Christmas-focused business – this quarter of its financial year brings in 46 per cent of its revenues – makes it vital to the legacy media firms that want to see their box sets under our trees. If it is lucky, they will decide to reach for the beard and red hat one more time.


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One Orange County farm that is helping growers sell what they sow as farmer's markets are closing down, leaving a bevy of organic fruit and veggies once destined for sale.
Think of the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano as part farm part fruit stand, and now it may be the ultimate co-op.
Nearly 20 of the 28 acres there are planted with crops, everything from cabbage to kale to carrots, and, of course, strawberries.
Many of the fruits and vegetables were destined for farmer's markets, now closed due to coronavirus concerns. Instead the greens are being packaged up in a sort of organic surprise box.
"They put 15 items in a box and you get what you get," said Beth Patt, a customer.
The center has been selling its home-grown food for years and is now reaching out to other farmers to help them sell their wares, with a true farm-to-table goal.
"There are many of our farm friends who didn't have an outlet or a relationship like we do so we're able to mass produce all those items together as one," said Evan Marks, of the Ecology Center. "It's called farm share and we're packing about 1,000 boxes per week."
That's five times more than before the virus hit. The boxes cost $38 a piece, are available only online and usually sell out in an hour.
The fresh produce is also being shared with Project Hope Alliance which helps low-income families. Organizers expect the need to quadruple this year. So once a week they bring organic goods to homes with no way to cook.
More meals are shared with the local senior center, which happens to be the only other building on the property.


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WILTON, Conn. — Help support a local nonprofit agency while getting some holiday shopping out of the way this Thursday at the fourth annual Sip-Shop-Share, a benefit shopping event in Wilton featuring local artisans and businesses.
Led by Wilton entrepreneur Jennifer Angerame, owner of Southern Yankee, the event will raise funds and collect items for ElderHouse, an adult day center that serves seniors in Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Weston, Westport and Wilton.
Angerame said approximately eight vendors are taking part in the event, including A Single Strand, Nod Hill Soap, Diaper Bag Dailies, Carrot Top Kitchens and Sabina Furst Designs.
“The event is not about making money,” said Angerame. “It's about getting people out during a sometimes stressful and often hectic time of year to socialize, become acquainted with some local businesses and give to a local cause.”
Wilton High School students will also be on site selling “Post Graduation Party” fund-raising items, Angerame said.
Instead of charging an admission fee, Angerame said items are being collected at the door for ElderHouse. Shoppers are asked to bring Advil or Tylenol; boxed chocolates and cookies (sugar-free and regular); crossword puzzles; word search books; black/blue/red poker chips; or large sized Crayola markers. Cash donations are also appreciated, she said.
"Getting together and supporting one another while also supporting this charity felt like the right and sensible thing to do this time of year," said Angerame.
Sip-Shop-Share will take place at WEPCO, 36 New Canaan Road, Wilton, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Coffee and treats will be served during the daytime. Shoppers who stop in at night will enjoy wine and light appetizers.
“This is a great event because it’s very casual, there’s easy parking and it’s a fun way to get some holiday shopping done,” Angerame said.
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Clearwire snags $900 million from Intel, Motorola; drops IPO
Seattle Times technology reporter
Clearwire, the Kirkland company building an expansive wireless broadband network, received more than $900 million in capital Wednesday, enough to cancel plans for a stock market debut.
Intel led the investment by contributing $600 million, the largest amount the chip giant has directed to a single company. Motorola invested $300 million and purchased NextNet Wireless, Clearwire's hardware division, for an undisclosed amount.
The scale of the investment is huge on all fronts. The amount easily doubles what Clearwire already has raised in equity and debt since being started by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw in 2003.
It's also more than twice what it had expected to raise in the initial public offering it asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to shelve Wednesday.
But more significant than the money is the partnership of the three companies, said Ben Wolff, who shares Clearwire's chief executive title with McCaw.
Together, the companies will likely have enough money and engineering talent to develop, build and host a mobile high-speed wireless broadband network called WiMax in the U.S. and other countries, he said.
"It's a big number," Wolff said, "but the partnerships are equally important."
The wireless network Clearwire is building competes with DSL, cable and, in some cases, high-speed networks called 3G that cellular carriers are deploying. WiMax is expected to be cheaper than 3G because it uses airwaves more efficiently and requires less equipment during installation.
Clearwire, which has 870 employees, has rolled out service in 27 markets and plans to launch soon in a variety of cities, including Everett, Seattle and Tacoma.
With Wednesday's announcement, Intel, Motorola and Clearwire are aligning themselves with the so-called WiMax standard.
WiMax has been highly promoted as a next-generation network, but backers have been criticized for overpromising its capabilities.
With the three companies backing WiMax, the standard will likely achieve the large commercial deployments it had been planning on.
Also, by using standardized equipment, Clearwire's cost of building its network may drop.
Under the partnership, Intel would build chips for WiMax in laptops, Motorola would build the infrastructure and Clearwire would upgrade the networks it already owns and deploy the service more broadly.
Intel said it plans to put chips in laptops by the end of 2007; Motorola said it plans to start building mobile WiMax networks by the second half of next year.
In addition, the companies said they will work on both the fixed version of the WiMax-like service Clearwire offers now and the evolving mobile version.
The fixed version requires a modem about the size of a textbook, while the mobile WiMax will be integrated into laptops and allow a user to roam.
"This is a great opportunity to hasten the deployment of WiMax and for us to have the first mover advantage," said Raghu Rau, Motorola's senior vice president of strategy, networks and enterprise business.
Clearwire had hinted it would sell NextNet, its equipment subsidiary, from the time it acquired the Minneapolis company in 2004. It bought NextNet to ensure it would have the products it needed to deploy the service.
"I would say it [equipment] has never been a core competency in a McCaw operation," Wolff said. "Having said that, if we didn't find the right partnership with Motorola, we didn't feel compelled to anything. They were doing well. and it was a beneficial relationship."
McCaw is known in the wireless industry for starting McCaw Cellular Communications, which AT&T bought for $11.5 billion in 1994 and later became AT&T Wireless. McCaw also rescued Nextel Communications by investing about $1.1 billion and turning it into a leading wireless carrier.
But he has had his failures. Teledesic, which was developing a network of satellites to deliver Internet service, went belly up in 2003.
McCaw also held a small fortune in fiber-optics network provider XO Communications, which filed for bankruptcy protection and has since reorganized.
An executive at Intel, which had previously invested in Clearwire, said McCaw will have to obtain much more than the $2 billion-plus it has raised to complete its WiMax network.
"They will need a lot of capital," said Sriram Viswanathan, vice president of Intel Capital, the company's venture-investing arm. "To build a nationwide network, you need billions of dollars of capital. You will see them have a voracious appetite for capital."
Tricia Duryee: 206-464-3283 or email@example.com
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company


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Non-basmati rice exports in H1 top FY20 shipments
Exports of non-basmati rice have more than doubled to top 5 million tonnes (mt) in the first half of the current financial year on robust demand. Exporters see shipments touching a new high — even 10 mt — as buyers such as China and Bangladesh have started showing interest in the Indian cereal.
Non-basmati shipments stood at 5.07 mt during April-September this year against 2.5 mt in the same period last year. In value terms, non-basmati rice emerged the No 2 agri product exported in H1 of this year, clocking $1.95 billion ($1.01 billion during the corresponding period last year).
Odisha govt to repromulgate ordinance on agri-marketing to attract private investors
In a shift from the ruling BJD’s earlier position to oppose the farm sector reforms introduced by the Centre, the Odisha government has approved a proposal to repromulgate an ordinance on agricultural produce and livestock marketing to attract private investors in the segment.
The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance was first promulgated on May 13 and is about to lapse soon, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said.
KCCI seeks Mpeda-approved quality control lab in Mangalore
The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the Government to establish an Mpeda-approved quality control lab in Mangalore as it would benefit in boosting the export of fish and fisheries products from coastal Karnataka.


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Microsoft is still committed to its digital assistant Cortana and the company is exploring new ways to improve the communication experience.
Microsoft has filed a patent which suggests that the company is working on making it easier for customers to use the digital assistant in public.
Users generally find themselves in an awkward situation when trying to use the digital assistant in public. To avoid such scenarios, Microsoft is working on a Silent voice Input technology which helps users to send voice commands just by whispering or bringing the device close to the mouth.
The new technology could well be used on phones, smartwatches and other devices or non Microsoft products also. By placing the microphone or appartus close to user’s mouth with small gap between mouth and the microphone the digital assistant is able to capture stable utterance signal with small voice leakage.
“Compared with conventional voice input solutions which are based on normal speech or whispering that use egressive (breathing-out) airflow while speaking, the proposed “silent” voice input method is performed by using opposite (ingressive or breathing-in) airflow while speaking,” the patent reads.
We are currently not sure as to when the technology will be implemented since its at the patent stage and whether it will reach to the public.


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Apple iPhone 5 rumoured announcement
Posted on July 31, 2012 by L&G
Normally, I don’t deal with rumours. It is kind of pointless in even writing about them, because if the rumour doesn’t turn out to be true, it becomes a complete waste of both mine, and your time. Sometimes though, rumours are just too juicy to ignore. Take this for instance; it has now been rumoured that Apple will be dropping their next iPhone on Wednesday, 12th of September, nearly a month earlier than the last major product release. Crazy huh? Of course, this doesn’t come as no surprise, as the American computer giant reported a revenue of $35.02 billion dollars and net income of $8.82 billion for the fiscal third quarter of 2012, numbers that were well beyond the same period last year, but much lower than the stock analysts high-expectations.
To make matters worse, arch rival Samsung announced a record fiscal quarter of $41.79 billion dollars, with a vast majority of profit coming from its smartphone sales, not to mention its new Galaxy S III Android phone broke the 10 million units mark in global sales. Heavy.
All of this, adds to the fact that Apple realistically updates their iPhone range every 2 years (iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4s simply isn’t a large enough jump), makes for Apple’s semi-decline, and given the momentum over leaked images and technical specification over the last few months, its almost for certain the event will be about the new iPhone.
Get ready for the pandemonium.


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Pharma body calls for more State funding on medicines
Government to save €15m this year as prices fall across 750 drugs
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association says the Government accepts that its medicines bill has been “relatively stable” at about €1.7 billion for the past five years. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Prices across 750 medicines have fallen in a move that will save the Government €15 million on its drugs budget, according to the industry body Ipha.
The cuts come about as part of an annual review of prices in a basket of 14 countries, including Ireland.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (Ipha), which represents the major drug development companies says the price cuts show it is delivering savings under a Drug Pricing Agreement signed in 2016. The accord is expected to deliver accumulated savings of €785 million by July 2020.
However, the pharma industry says Ireland continues to trail other European countries in providing early access to new innovative medicines. It has called on Government to increase exchequer funding for medicines to take account of an aging population and the arrival of a new modern generation of therapies.
Ipha says the Government accepts that its medicines bill has been “relatively stable” at about €1.7 billion for the past five years, even though the amount of medicines prescribed has risen noticeably.
“These latest figures show that the biopharma industry is delivering significant savings on innovative medicines for the Government,” said Oliver O’Connor, chief executive of Ipha. “Securing timely access to medicines for patients at reasonable prices, in particular innovative medicines offering enhanced health outcomes, should be a key priority for Ireland. It is vital that we free up resources for continued investment in new and innovative medicines for patients.”
He said Ireland was currently among the slowest in western Europe in making new medicines available to patients.
Ipha says an analysis of all products on the Health Service Executive’s Primary Care Reimbursement Service list shows that medicines prices are already relatively low. “Over 4,000 products, or 61 per cent, are under €20 per pack,” the group said. “Just 698 products, or 11 per cent, are priced over €100 per pack.”
Medicines for Ireland, a body that represents the generics sector – providing cheaper copies of drugs that have come off patent – is also unhappy. It warned on Monday that shortages in certain medicines that are already impacting the Irish market would only get worse under Brexit.
“Many generic medicines are now priced so low as to render them unattractive to global suppliers, who direct these products away from Ireland to higher priced markets,” said Owen McKeon, chairman of the industry group and country manager for Mylan.
“Ireland has now reached a tipping point whereby the price of some generic medicines has fallen to such an extent that often a month’s supply can cost less than a bar of chocolate,” he said.
The group says that more than 120 medicines are currently out of stock, covering conditions including asthma, thyroid conditions, oral contraception, angina and schizophrenia.
And that could get worse post-Brexit. At present, Ireland can “batch share” with the UK. That makes the delivery of small volumes to the Irish market economic but it might no longer be allowed by the medicines regulator after Brexit.


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BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion) announced its new BlackBerry 10 mobile platform as well as two new smartphones.
The Smart TV Alliance announced that five new members have joined its ranks and the association will introduce an updated SDK at CES 2013.
NPD DisplaySearch announced it forecasts Smart TV shipments to grow 15% worldwide in 2012.
VIZIO announced its new Co-Star Stream Player, which features the latest version of Google TV and OnLive cloud gaming.
Qumu announced that it has updated its Video Control Center (VCC) platform to support mobile devices including Windows Phones, iPhones and iPads as well as Android phones and tablets.
OverDrive announced that it plans to launch its new web browser-based eBook reading platform later this year.
Adobe Systems announced its new subscription-base Creative Cloud service (US$49.99 per month), which is centred around the company’s Creative Suite 6 software.
Adobe Systems announced its new Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended digital image editing, compositing and graphic design software.
Corel Corporation announced that it has released its new VideoStudio Pro X5 ($79.99) and VideoStudio Pro X5 Ultimate ($99.99) video editing software.
Research In Motion (RIM) announced its next generation BBX platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets.
NVIDIA Corporation announced that YouTube now allows 3D videos to be watched on NVIDIA 3D Vision PCs and notebooks that run the latest version of Firefox.
The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) announced that its EPUB 3 digital publishing specification is now available for public review and deployment by early implementers.
StreamingMedia.com announced that its annual Streaming Media East Exhibition and Conference will be held May 10-11, 2011 at the Hilton New York in midtown Manhattan.


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Apple Launches Russian iTunes Missing Top Acts
Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- In "Company News," Bloomberg's Sara Eisen reports on today's top business stories including HP introduces new software in its Autonomy line, Apple releases iTunes in Russia and Standard & Poor's cuts the credit rating on Cantor Fitzgerald to one level above junk. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."
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